Autobase - Intelligence Room
There are things the experienced and old do not say, even if they think them. A long enough life teaches those who survive it that it's best to acknowledge things to themselves, and then to stay silent. The universe may not be aware or malicious in its own right, but after a long enough existence it becomes easy to think that saying certain things gives the idea of them more substance. Enough substance, and... well.
Ironhide wasn't superstitious, exactly. He just didn't see the point in giving the universe ideas.
At the moment, the idea he didn't want to give the universe was on the nebulous side. The general thrust, though, was something like this: after long years of Decepticon silence, even from Scorponok, more Cybertronians had arrived on Earth. And they'd been Autobots. Except for a few incidents with irritated highway patrol officers, the new arrivals were adapting. Everything was rolling along smoothly, even to the extent that Sam Witwicky would be going off to the opposite side of the continent sans protector. It was all just too much. There was no way that kind of state could hold. Something was going to break loose; life, in his experience, was not that kind...
Well, there wasn't much he could do about it. Just keep watch. Just keep wary. At least he'd be the first to know when the streak broke.
Or Grimlock would. That was one thing Ironhide appreciated. The cerebrator-damaged mech might have been a shadow of his former self, but all the slag he'd been through had made him properly wary. When 'Hide wasn't standing guard, Grimlock was. The only problem was that there was a good chance Grimlock would charge at the danger without notifying anyone. He'd had all the impulse control of a new incept ever since that smelting headshot. Ironhide had made it a habit to check up on Grimlock two or three times a watch shift, just to make sure he was still there.
And that night he was. Grimlock's shape formed a dark outline against the flickering blue of half a dozen monitoring screens in the hangar, each crammed with readouts representing the scanning data of multiple human sensor systems. The Autobots' own deep-sky scanners had a screen all their own, although they scarcely needed one. Any of them could have plugged directly into the system and siphoned the raw data for analysis. Having it out in the open eased the minds of the Autobase human contingent, though- and made it simpler to get a second opinion from other Cybertronians, without having to open a second connection. Grimlock didn't much believe in extraneous chatter when he was on duty. It would've made him miss something.
Nevertheless, he turned his head a fraction at the sound of Ironhide's footsteps. "It not end of duty shift yet," he said. "You early. Again."
"You know me, Grimlock," was Ironhide's answer. "Can't help wanting to keep an optic on things."
Grimlock's only answer was a grunt. He knew, all right. Ironhide had been the only mech he could really count on to be there since he'd finally made it to Earth, other than Prime- and the only one he really got along with. Mostly because he didn't seem to feel the need to constantly talk. This was no exception; the big black mech took his place at Grimlock's side, and for a while silence reigned, save for the twitters and beeps of the consoles around them.
Eventually, though, Grimlock felt the need to speak. "Ironhide. You worried about something."
There was no question in his tone, and they both knew it.
"Just wondering," Ironhide allowed; that much, he felt, was safe. "Who might be next."
"You not only one," said Grimlock. "If four come now, soon there gonna be more. It a matter of time."
Ironhide nodded. "Lot of space out there," he said. "Lot of places there could be mechs coming in from. All kinds-"
He stopped. Grimlock froze. The lone Cybertronian monitor had flickered into brilliant life. They watched for a while as the barely-above-background-noise signal streamed past the sensors; they turned to look at each other, after.
Minutes later, every mech on Autobase fell silent as Grimlock transmitted the same six words to all of them:
"This Grimlock. Him Shockwave- him coming."
Ironhide wasn't superstitious, exactly. He just didn't see the point in giving the universe ideas.
At the moment, the idea he didn't want to give the universe was on the nebulous side. The general thrust, though, was something like this: after long years of Decepticon silence, even from Scorponok, more Cybertronians had arrived on Earth. And they'd been Autobots. Except for a few incidents with irritated highway patrol officers, the new arrivals were adapting. Everything was rolling along smoothly, even to the extent that Sam Witwicky would be going off to the opposite side of the continent sans protector. It was all just too much. There was no way that kind of state could hold. Something was going to break loose; life, in his experience, was not that kind...
Well, there wasn't much he could do about it. Just keep watch. Just keep wary. At least he'd be the first to know when the streak broke.
Or Grimlock would. That was one thing Ironhide appreciated. The cerebrator-damaged mech might have been a shadow of his former self, but all the slag he'd been through had made him properly wary. When 'Hide wasn't standing guard, Grimlock was. The only problem was that there was a good chance Grimlock would charge at the danger without notifying anyone. He'd had all the impulse control of a new incept ever since that smelting headshot. Ironhide had made it a habit to check up on Grimlock two or three times a watch shift, just to make sure he was still there.
And that night he was. Grimlock's shape formed a dark outline against the flickering blue of half a dozen monitoring screens in the hangar, each crammed with readouts representing the scanning data of multiple human sensor systems. The Autobots' own deep-sky scanners had a screen all their own, although they scarcely needed one. Any of them could have plugged directly into the system and siphoned the raw data for analysis. Having it out in the open eased the minds of the Autobase human contingent, though- and made it simpler to get a second opinion from other Cybertronians, without having to open a second connection. Grimlock didn't much believe in extraneous chatter when he was on duty. It would've made him miss something.
Nevertheless, he turned his head a fraction at the sound of Ironhide's footsteps. "It not end of duty shift yet," he said. "You early. Again."
"You know me, Grimlock," was Ironhide's answer. "Can't help wanting to keep an optic on things."
Grimlock's only answer was a grunt. He knew, all right. Ironhide had been the only mech he could really count on to be there since he'd finally made it to Earth, other than Prime- and the only one he really got along with. Mostly because he didn't seem to feel the need to constantly talk. This was no exception; the big black mech took his place at Grimlock's side, and for a while silence reigned, save for the twitters and beeps of the consoles around them.
Eventually, though, Grimlock felt the need to speak. "Ironhide. You worried about something."
There was no question in his tone, and they both knew it.
"Just wondering," Ironhide allowed; that much, he felt, was safe. "Who might be next."
"You not only one," said Grimlock. "If four come now, soon there gonna be more. It a matter of time."
Ironhide nodded. "Lot of space out there," he said. "Lot of places there could be mechs coming in from. All kinds-"
He stopped. Grimlock froze. The lone Cybertronian monitor had flickered into brilliant life. They watched for a while as the barely-above-background-noise signal streamed past the sensors; they turned to look at each other, after.
Minutes later, every mech on Autobase fell silent as Grimlock transmitted the same six words to all of them:
"This Grimlock. Him Shockwave- him coming."